When Mara Donofrio first began her college career studying plastics, she was surprised by the diversity of industries that utilize plastics in some form or another.
"Many of these applications are vital to an efficient society, and I feel that is not well known enough by the general population. Plastic is seen in a generally negative light, but it is life-changing innovations in medical devices, cars, electronics, construction and so many more vital industries," said Donofrio, who graduated from Penn State Erie, the Behrend College, with a bachelor's degree in plastics engineering technology and received the Outstanding Student Award for the class of 2022.
Her plastics experience started with an internship working on the manufacturing floor. "I assisted the processing engineers with mold debugging and creating a molding process for new tools, alongside learning all the different aspects of an injection molding shop, from the vital roles of material handlers and operators to the quality team and mold techs, to the interactions between engineers, managers and the design team to bring a new project to production," she said. "I was interested in the industry because of its diversity in career paths, product types and necessity of educated individuals in the field."
Donofrio transitioned to outside sales, moving from Pennsylvania to Tennessee, where she is now a sales development engineer at Conventus Polymers LLC.
"My greatest achievement is transitioning into the role I am currently in and building a new sales territory for Conventus. I have no ties to Tennessee and made this move alone. I am proud of my ability to adapt to the new city, role and territory and continue to build our company brand," she said.
"As a sales engineer, a large responsibility of mine is to continuously bring new business opportunities to the company. It is important to continue to progress programs that have started while engaging new customers and forming relationships. This can be difficult to balance, so it is important to dedicate time to both aspects of the role and make sure I am spending face time with customers," she added.
Donofrio said she believes there should be more education about the benefits and drawbacks of plastics usage.
"It is a continuous effort to raise awareness of the importance of responsible usage," she said. "I focus on educating my customers on the sustainable portfolio we can provide and tailor it to their goals."
During her school years, Donofrio was involved in her community as a member of a junior Lions Club and student council as well as the treasurer of her high school class. In college, she was a peer tutor and engineering ambassador who promoted a plastics program. She also was involved with a manufacturing mentorship program and volunteer group Circle K.